Specialty distributor suspects it could be a takeover target

CHICAGO, June 15, 2026 — Is another specialty foodservice distributor about to be gobbled up? 

HF Foods, a distributor serving Asian restaurants in the U.S., said it has detected “credible indications” that a party may be secretly accumulating the company’ stock and courting other shareholders for a possible takeover attempt.  

The suspected suitor was not identified. 

HF said it is not pursuing a sale and has adopted a shareholder rights program to ensure stakeholders aren’t shortchanged if a hostile takeover is attempted. The protection provides current shareholders with the right to purchase additional shares at half their value if a single party or group of investors amasses at least 15% of common shares outstanding. 

The measure is different from a so-called poison-pill defense in that it aims to boost a buyer’s payment to shareholders rather than thwart a deal. Under a poison-pill provision, a company facing a hostile takeover floods the market with additional common shares to push the price of a stock buyout to an unfeasible level. 

The shareholder rights provision will remain in effect for 364 days, HF said. 

The company distributes fresh produce, dry and frozen foods and some nonfood items primarily to Asian restaurants. It is based in Las Vegas. 

Foodservice distribution’s big broadliners have been avid buyers of smaller and specialty players in recent years to grow faster than they could by adding customers and raising purchase volumes. 

Currently pending is the $29.1 billion acquisition of cash-and-carry giant Restaurant Depot by the industry’s largest broadline distributor, Sysco Corp. The deal would immediately make Sysco, currently the operator of just two cash-and-carry outlets, the leading power in that distribution market.